Mountain View Voice

Crime briefs

Gun-toting drunken driver arrested

A man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and carrying a loaded gun after flashing his weapon to a bouncer outside the Monte Carlo nightclub around closing time on July 26, Mountain View police said.

Ken Povlo, 27, from Redwood City, was pulled over by police who spotted him driving without his headlights on, said Liz Wylie, public information officer for Mountain View police. As the officer was talking with Polvo, another officer approaching the scene was flagged down by the owner of the Monte Carlo, who informed that officer that the man might be armed, as Polvo allegedly flashed a gun to a club bouncer only moments earlier.

Police searched Polvo's car and found a loaded 9-mm pistol, two ammunition clips and a box of ammunition, according to Wylie. Polvo was arrested on charges of carrying a concealed firearm, carrying a loaded firearm, driving without a license, brandishing a weapon, and on suspicion of driving under the influence with a prior conviction.

Knife-point robbery

A man was robbed of his wallet and passport at knifepoint outside his Mountain View apartment in the early hours of July 25, a police spokeswoman said.

The suspect initially asked the victim, 24, if he wanted to buy drugs in the carport of his apartment at 2200 California St., said Liz Wylie, public information officer for Mountain View police. The man declined and tried to walk away, when the woman pulled a chrome knife with a four-inch fixed blade and demanded his wallet and passport, which he was carrying in his hand. He surrendered his belongings.

The man lost $190 worth of food stamps, Wylie said.

The suspect is described as a black woman in her 40s, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds.

Thwarted burglary

A woman and her son came home to discover a burglary in progress at their home in the 700 block of Wake Forrest Drive on the morning of July 23, police said.

The woman, 43, said she and her son, 11, returned home at around 11:15 a.m. and heard a male voice and footsteps inside when they opened the door, said Mountain View police spokeswoman Liz Wylie. They called police, who searched the apartment for the intruders and found they had already fled. Police believe the burlgars gained entry through an open window.

Various electronics, including a laptop, video game systems and a TV had been moved out of place as the burglars prepared to make off with the items, Wylie said. Only the boy's wallet was missing.

Burglars foiled

A backpack containing clothing and electronics was stolen from a Mountain View home only to be recovered shortly thereafter, police said.

According to Mountain View police spokeswoman Liz Wylie, police believe a burglar entered the house in the 1200 block of Chritobal Privada some time shortly before 11:30 p.m. as the residents, ages 25 and 28, slept. The victims woke to find the backpack missing, and discovered that a window and the garage door were open.

The backpack was found across the street, Wylie said. No items were stolen. Police hypothesize that the burglar accidentally activated the garage door opener, which was in the backpack, and fled, fearing that the victims had opened the garage to give chase.

Locked windows don't stop burglar

An apartment in the 100 block of East Middlefield Road was burglarized while the resident was on vacation, police said.

The victim told police on July 18 that sterling silver jewelry and prescription medication had been stolen, and that she had found the living room window open and the screen missing, said Liz Wylie, spokeswoman for the Mountain View Police Department. There were no signs of forced entry, but the victim told police that she had secured all entries to her apartment before leaving on vacation, July 9.

Wylie said that even when locked, certain windows aren't very difficult to open or remove outright. She recommended that people living in apartments with easily breached doors and windows should pressure their landlords to allow them to install better locks and more secure windows.

Wooden rods can provide extra protection when wedged between the sliding panel of a sliding window and the edge of the sill, she said.

Electronics stolen

A PlayStation, an XBox, DVDs, VHS tapes, and a Sony stereo with an AM/FM radio and CD player were stolen from a detached garage in the first block of Devonshire Avenue sometime between July 19 and July 21, said Liz Wylie, public information officer for Mountain View police.

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